The resignation of Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldos has been described by critics of the New South Wales police force in ironic terms. " The best Commissioner we never had ". Kaldos was clearly the man best suited to sort out the labyrinthine inner workings of politics and schism that entangle the operations of our crime fighting body.
Nick Kaldos rose to Deputy Commissioner the hard way. He was born in Egypt in 1958 and his Coptic Christian parents moved to Australia in 1969 with Kaldos joining the New South Wales police force in 1981. He was fluent in three languages and these included French and Arabic, a rare gift at a time when communications between police and migrants from the Middle East were almost nonexistent.
He had an illustrious career and headed up the investigations into the murder of schoolgirl Samantha Knight and the political assassination of MP John Newman. He was sent overseas to train fledgling police recruits in Iraq and then seconded to the United Nations to investigate the murder of the prime minister of Lebanon. His stature as a policeman was recognised on the world stage.
Here in Australia he was seen as a " natural " to take on the top job when the present Commissioner ended his term, but that post was sought by others and a nefarious scheme was put in place that involved having a judge sign off on false documentation that resulted in the homes and offices of a hundred NSW police officers being bugged by Internal Affairs. Nick Kaldos was a victim of that plot.
It was a witch hunt that abounded with false accusations - and ruined careers. There were mental breakdowns and at least one suicide, and what followed certainly did nothing to enhance the professional reputation of New South Wales police. Numerous enquiries under insufficient terms of reference meandered endlessly without reaching a conclusion and eventually both a Royal Commission and an enquiry by the Ombudsman petered out - and have yet to deliver a finding.
It is probably a classic case that will become the butt of late night television comedian jokes. A police force that is determined not to follow the most basic of clues and do precisely what it's intended purpose is supposed to be - to solve a crime ! Instead, the investigation goes in ever decreasing circles - and remains clueless ! It seems patently obvious that solving this case would deliver a finding that is incompatible with the politics and pressures that shape the internal workings of the power pyramid. That is the status quo that has existed for fourteen long years.
The present Commissioner has been asked to extend his term in office and delay retirement because under these circumstances choosing a replacement would shine the spotlight on the divisions that exist within the upper echelon. It is rumoured that Nick Kaldos has been advised that he will not be the next commissioner and he has decided to walk away from the mess that is the command structure of New South Wales police - and will be head hunted to a senior position in international policing.
An opportunity lost !
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